Q&AMP;A KNOWLEDGEBASE

Church Supported Arianism

Question

In one of your answers, you state that at one point the entire church supported the Arian heresy. When did this occur?

Answer

The church officially refuted Arianism at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. Following Nicea, however, Arianism actually became the official position of the church during the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius and for a short while after his death. The church adopted Arianism as its official position in A.D. 357 at the Second Council of Sirmium, and at several local councils in subsequent years. During this time, Athanasius was exiled several times for opposing Arianism. He was considered a heretic for holding to views we now consider orthodox. It was his struggle against Arianism after Nicea that earned him the epitaph "Athanasius against the world."